Cyber security Archives - WRLO Accountants

Companies House begins to verify identities

WRLO Accountants — Sat, 19 Apr 2025 12:11:10 +0000

A new service has been launched that allows individuals to verify their identity directly with Companies House through GOV.UK. The introduction of identity verification is one of the key changes to company law as part of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. Companies House has landmark new and enhanced powers to combat economic crime and boost economic growth. More than six million people will be required to comply in the 12 months after identity verification becomes a legal requirement later this year. According to Companies House, identity verification will provide more assurance about who is setting up, running, owning and controlling companies in the UK. Louise Smyth, CEO of Companies House, said: ‘Identity verification will play a key role in improving the quality and reliability of our data and tackling misuse of the companies register. ‘To save time later, we encourage directors, people with significant control of companies (PSCs) and those filing information with Companies House to verify their identity during the voluntary window. ‘We expect identity verification to become mandatory from Autumn 2025.’ Internet link: GOV.UK

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Over £570 million stolen by fraudsters in first half of 2024

WRLO Accountants — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 19:12:25 +0000

Criminals stole more than £570 million through authorised and unauthorised fraud in the first half of this year, according to data published by UK Finance. 72% of authorised push payment fraud began online and 16% started via telecommunications. Losses due to unauthorised transactions across payment cards, remote banking and cheques were £358 million in the first half of this year, an increase of 5%. The data also showed that banks prevented £710.9 million of unauthorised fraud using advanced security systems. Ben Donaldson, Managing Director of Economic Crime at UK Finance, said: ‘Fraud continues to pose a major threat in this country with over £570 million stolen through payment fraud in the first half of the year. In addition to the financial impact, this crime can cause severe psychological harm to victims. ‘This isn’t a fight we will win alone as our data again shows that most fraud originates online and via telecommunications networks. There have been some improvements made by other sectors, but their actions don’t yet fully match the scale of the problem – more needs to be done to prevent fraudsters exploiting these platforms and networks.’ Internet link: UK Finance website

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New measures aim to ‘break the spell’ of fraudsters

WRLO Accountants — Sat, 06 Apr 2024 09:27:21 +0000

New measures aim to ‘break the spell’ of financial fraudsters by giving payment providers more time, according to draft legislation published by the government. Until now, payment service providers such as banks have generally been required to process payments by the end of the following business day, giving a limited timeline to investigate and alert relevant parties to possible fraud. The draft legislation will give payment service providers a further 72 hours to investigate payments, but only where there are reasonable grounds to suspect fraud or dishonesty. The legislation has been designed to minimise any impact on legitimate payments. The UK has seen an increase in authorised push payment fraud over the past few years – in 2022 victims lost £485 million to these scams. Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Bim Afolami, said: ‘Fraudsters spin whole webs of lies and fabricate all sorts of things to convince people to send them money – this legislation will give banks, other payment service providers and law enforcement more time to get in touch with victims and break the fraudster’s spell before money is sent. ‘The government is absolutely committed to tackling fraud and recognises the impact of this devastating crime on victims […]

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